Quinn stores his ghostly horse in the deep recesses of his soul, then climbs down the rope. He is now immune to common sense fear, after all.
This cavernous chamber may have once been an underground cellblock, but it has long since collapsed. The crumbled walls are thick with mold and stained with soot, and heaps of fallen stones and charred wooden beams line the area. Water drips and seeps along the walls, collecting in a dark, murky pool in the middle of the room.
To the north, the twisted remains of a wood and iron lift lie in a heap in a shallow portion of the pool. A jagged hole in the roof yawns twenty feet above this ruin. To the west, a partially blocked opening seems to open up after several feet into a dark but stable tunnel.
The dark, murky pool is right below the hole in the ceiling, so that is where Quinn finds himself. It is about knee-deep. I'm going to call this difficult terrain.
As soon as Quinn's feet touch the bottom of the pool, the room fills with a cacophonous roar of screams and howls. The surface of the pool starts rippling, as if something is stirring underwater.
Two semi-ghostly figures burst from the water! Only Quinn can see them at present because of their location, and they greatly remind him of his horse Luna. They start gliding over the surface of the pool towards him, rage in their ghostly eyes.
Quinn Knowledge (Religion):1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Quinn recognizes these as undead, specifically Ectoplasmic Creatures (in this case, ectoplasmic humans). They are similar to ghosts, but formed from less powerful souls. Like Luna, they will partially resist attacks from arrows or maces (DR 5/slashing).
Climbing is at quarter speed, so with a 30' double move you can get 15' down. Accelerated climbing is twice as fast, but DC 10 in this case. Jumping is an option, though the water is not deep enough to mitigate the falling damage.
Ismene cracks the skull hard with her spiked gauntlet as it moves in. It then tries to give her a fiery headbutt, missing.
The party is able to finish the remaining skull off in short order.
It had 1 HP left - a max damage roll by Ismene would have finished it. But is Ismene using her Spiked Gauntlet as her +1 weapon (Attunement from Automatic Bonus Progression)? If so, she one-shot it before it even got an attack off.
---
This room was where the fire that doomed Harrowstone began. The
fire burned so hot that much of the eastern wing of the dungeon below collapsed once its wooden supports failed.
You discern that the jagged, soot-caked hole in the floor was once the location of the lift that connected the two floors. It’s a 20-foot drop to the floor below. How do you propose to descend?
The Rod of Healing is similar to the witch Healing Hex, using the wielder's character level as the caster level. So 1d8+3 at level 3, increasing to 2d8+5 at level 5. Theodore is at 18/24 HP.
---
The northeast wall of this room has partially fallen, revealing the dark, murky waters of the pond outside. Moldering training dummies and other similar equipment hint that this room may have once been a training area for the guards. In the northeast part of the room, the floor around a dark, jagged hole is surrounded by black scorch marks.
The fiery furnace lashes tongues of flame at Quinn, but they don't seem to affect him.
The metal of the furnace creaks, groans, and roars, venting its frustration at its inability to incinerate this invasive mortal.
At first Quinn sees nothing. But there is no hurry. So he crawls into the furnace and digs around, sifting through the ashes with his hands. Take 20 on Perception will get it.
After a couple of minutes, Quinn emerges, covered in ashes and soot, carrying a number of small objects.
He brings to Theodore part of a skull, three ribs, and six finger bones. He is quite certain he has found everything of notable size.
Theodore examines the bones, safely out of the fiery furnace's reach. As inanimate objects, they shouldn't be affected by the heat of the furnace (since it a haunt and its fire is a fear effect), and yet they feel hot to the touch. They must have some spiritual energy remaining in them.
Theodore now realizes the step that must be taken to expunge the haunt - the bones must be quenched in a large body of water, such as the lake that is just past the crumbled eastern wall of the furnace room.
Quinn hurls the bones into the lake. Old Ember Maw, the furnace of Harrowstone, goes silent.
You surmise that somebody's remains are in this furnace, and that permanently destroying the haunt will require digging them out from the ashes in the furnace.
Quinn:
You can see the flame, and the leering furnace face, but you don't feel any heat. You are quite sure that you and Luna would be unaffected by this haunt.
You'll be able to do both, I think. Let's start with this one.
---
Furnace Room
A huge stone furnace dominates this room. The metalwork of the furnace seems to form a face, with a cavernous gaping maw.
An ancient fire has burned away the entire east wall the room, providing a panoramic, if eerie, view of the lake beyond. That same lake has gradually expanded into the room, flooding its eastern half.
There is a door in the northeast of the Infirmary (the room you are in).
There is also a door in the east of the Auditorium (where the Cold Spot haunt is dormant for at least 24 hours).
The Poltergeist is hurt by Tiff's spell, but remains a threat.
It decides to scare off the wizard's allies. Tiff sees the spectral figure streak towards the group and burst into view for a second, presenting a terrifying visage.
It then vanishes from view.
Tiff is immune, because she can see invisible creatures (I guess it's a jump scare that requires the sudden appearance to work).
Quinn is now immune, because he is fearless.
The rest of you have the benefit of being close to Quinn...
Mold has destroyed much of the book's contents, but the following spells remain legible:
comprehend languages
dispel magic
false life
gust of wind
illusory script
levitate
mage armor
magic missile
summon monster IV
With the holy symbols, he can definitively say that there is no spiritual connection present. They most likely had a connection to Father Charlatan, but with the destruction of his spirit, they are simply holy symbols.
The spellbook:
Theodore:
Your name is scrawled in blood in the margins of the book. THEODORE SAMUEL WALDEN CARTER.
Theodore can feel that the Splatter Man was dealt a terrible blow to his morale and sanity by the loss of this spellbook. It is most definitely haunted or cursed, but could also be used as a weapon against the spirit. In fact, Theodore sees how it could be so used. By ripping out and destroying the remaining intact pages while in the spirit's presence, you could further erode his morale and damage him.
If within 30' of the Splatter Man, ripping out one or more pages as a standard action deals 1d6 damage plus 1 point per spell level on those pages. You'll first need someone with Read Magic to identify the spells present. So destroying a 1st-level spell does 1d6+1 damage, and destroying 2 2nd-level spells deals 1d6+4 damage. You can rip out multiple spells with a single standard action for more damage at once, but doing one spell at a time deals more damage total.
Theodore also senses that whoever carries this book will take on some of the Splatter Man's fears, in particular fears of losing spellcasting ability.
An arcane caster carrying the book will need to make a Will save whenever they decide to cast a spell other than a cantrip. This effect may linger for some time even after an arcane caster puts down the book.
Finally, the book will over time cause the possessor to see their name partially spelled blood in various locations. This is unnerving and can increase paranoia.
-2 on all saves against fear for whoever carries the book.
He can tell nothing about the smith's hammer, nor the flute.
Your name is scrawled in blood in the margins of the spellbook. THEOPHANIA. THEOPHANIA. Here and there just TIFF. But mostly THEOPHANIA. On maybe half the pages.
Quinn's torch deals 1d4 ⇒ 3 damage, and the chill abates for a moment.
Ismene's holy water hits the center of the manifesting haunt, and the chill dissipates entirely!
Theodore is denied a chance to interact with the haunt (this time at least) so cannot use his Spirit Sleuth ability to determine the correct course of action to permanently neutralize it. However, it is gone for now at least.
---
Ismene is able to open the locked door.
PROPERTY ROOM
A bizarre collection of antique goods rests upon wooden shelves that line the room. Several of the items contain tiny tags with labels written in a careful script.
Although much of the remaining property is junk, a few items remain that may be of interest, including a set of masterwork thieves’ tools oh NOW you get them when you needed them to get here in the first place!, a bronze war medallion from the Shining Crusade (worth 40 gp), an unframed Taldan painting of Stavian I (worth 100 gp), a set of a noblewoman’s silver hair clips (worth 35 gp), a masterwork punching dagger, a pouch containing a dozen masterwork shurikens, a masterwork silver war razor, and a wand of lesser restoration (12 charges).
The war razor looks unnervingly familiar to Theodore and Tiff, as if they had seen it in a dream.
You don't immediately see any relics of the five notorious prisoners. Taking time to search, you uncover a secret vault within the property room.
----
HIDDEN VAULT
This small vault was used to store the more valuable or notorious belongings of the various prisoners. Currently, the vault contains only five objects.
A bloodstained handaxe bears the tag Vance SaetressleYou know this to be the name of the Lopper
A collection of a dozen holy symbols on fine silver chains bears the tag Sefick CorvinFather Charlatan. The symbols are of Pharasma, Desna, Iomedae, Sarenrae, Nethys, Calistria, Shelyn, Irori, Abadar, Erastil, Milani, and Torag. The collection is probably worth about 300 gp.
A thick leather-bound spellbook caked in mold bears the tag Hean FeraminSplatter Man
A masterwork smith's hammer bears the tag Ispin OnyxcudgelMosswater Marauder
A tarnished silver flute, of masterwork quality and probably worth about 300 gp, bears the tag Piper of IlmarshNothing you came across mentioned his real name, and it sounds like the guards didn't know either.
----
What do you do with the five items? Does anybody touch or handle them? If examined from a distance with Detect Magic, the handaxe radiates magic as a standard magic item but with something else besides. The spellbook and the hammer have just that 'something else' - some unclear aura. The holy symbols and flute appear quite mundane.
Theodore's Spirit Sleuth ability can apply here to figure out what is going on (one check per item), with a modifier based on how he interacts with the items. The Spirit Planchette you found would also be an option.
Sorry if I was unclear or if the map is unclear.
To get to the locked iron door you would need to go through the room with the Cold Spot haunt.
While it might appear that the haunt is in a separate room to the north, that is not the case. It is not a solid wall dividing the southern part of the room from the rest - just a set of iron bars.
You don't know exactly how far the Cold Spot haunt extends.
Do you wish to prepare to deal with the haunt before getting to work on the door?
You know that it is harmed by fire as well as by positive energy and holy water.
Harrowstone Prison is much as you left it. You would go through the auditorium to get to the locked iron door leading to the property room. (There isn't a solid wall in the southern part of that room between the pews and the podium - it's just a set of iron bars.)
So you could be exposed to the Cold Spot haunt again if it is active. You know that it is harmed by fire as well as by positive energy and holy water.
How do you wish to deal with it?
(Should be pretty easy, just need to know what resources you are using.)
Father Grimburrow shakes his head.
"We may not know exactly what transpired. But the fact that he died in Harrowstone may have left his remains more susceptible to the evil influence of those spirits. At least there was enough left of him to leave you unharmed and return to his rest.
We will guard his grave well tonight."
---
Back at the house, Kendra is distraught to hear the identity of the night's visitor. "You are sure it was he?"
At the suggestion of cremation, she shakes her head. "Let us hope that by putting the spirits in the prison to rest we will let my father rest in peace as well. If he rises again then I will consider that option."
---
Now equipped with lockpicks and holy water, you return to Harrowstone Prison. On the way, you do see that another letter has been written in blood on the Memorial. "E". The Splatter Man continues taunting the warden's wife.
... but I will ask - if the phantom statblock is rebuilt as an animal type, why even make it a phantom to begin with?
Good question. And if it is a phantom, why change its type to Animal instead of keeping it as Outsider?
I have no idea why they decided to do it that way.
The archetype gives up a lot, and cavalier isn't OP to begin with, so I'm comfortable erring on the side of leniency here. Even so, saying "this one type of creature only applies positive modifiers to skill points, never negative ones" would be so strange and incongruous with the rest of the rules that I can't imagine that is what was intended. Such an exception would be more clearly spelled out, I think.
So I will say it is Type Outsider (Phantom).
1) Skill points are base 6/HD, with the -4 Int modifier that makes it 2/HD.
2) Does not need tricks
3) BAB are equal to HD
4) Does not get the scaling slam damage, but does get the animal companion boosts to Str/Dex instead of Dex/Cha
5) Does not grant the Shared Consciousness feature
If you want either an Animal Companion feat or a Phantom feat, run it by me. Will probably be fine.
Can I attune to my battleshaping natural weapons? Also might be important to know how it works for natural weapons when I polymorph.
I'll start with Mark Seifter's rule and adjust for polymorphing. Attuning to 1 weapon means 1 natural weapon at a time but this can change with your form. Attuning to 2 weapons means all natural weapons unless you have "terribly many" as Mark says. Let's say up to 4?
Quinn Harwood wrote:
GM Aldizog wrote:
@Quinn - the Ghost Mount only gets 1 skill rank per level because of the Int penalty, correct?
I was going by this in the Phantom entry, which specifically mentions getting more skill points if Int is high enough but doesn't say anything about getting fewer with a penalty.
Skills: This lists the phantom’s total skill ranks. A phantom can assign skill ranks to any skills, but it must possess the appropriate appendage to use some skills. Phantoms with Intelligence scores above the base value modify these totals as normal (a phantom gains a number of skill ranks equal to 2 + its Intelligence modifier per Hit Die). A phantom can’t have more ranks in a skill than it has Hit Dice. Phantom skill ranks are set once chosen.
Int modifiers apply to skill points per level whether positive or negative, so "2+Int modifier" means the default Phantom should be at 1 per HD with its 7 Int. The best explanation I have seen is that Outsider phantoms actually have 6+Int skill ranks per level, and then -2 for a 7 Int and a further -2 for the 2 preassigned focus skills. That's why there was no provision for Int being lower than the base value, because for a normal phantom it can only go up (by assigning points every 4 HD).
Now, Ghost Mount differs from the standard Phantom in a number of ways, such as Animal type and lower Int. A standard animal companion has 1 skill point per HD, a Phantom has 2 skill points per HD, the Ghost Mount is not quite either. The two changes of type and Int make me inclined to give it 1 skill point per HD.
Besides the skill ranks, there are a ton of other puzzling gaps in the rules as relate to the Ghost Mount:
The mount's Str never advancing would mean it would often be encumbered until you put ability points into it (light load for a 16 Str quadruped is 230 lbs) - I would allow you to increase Str and Dex as a typical animal companion instead of Dex and Cha
The lack of bonus tricks would seem to mean that the mount, despite being a phantom, might need to be pushed to attack unnatural creatures until you could put a point into Int to teach it new tricks - I would allow bonus tricks as a typical animal companion, and not require the additional trick to attack unnatural creatures. Or maybe it doesn't need tricks at all despite being an animal with Int 2?
It starts with only 1 (non-maxed) HD instead of 2, though DR 5/slashing should mitigate this a little;
The interaction of its three non-slam attacks with scaling phantom slam damage is unclear;
The BAB is unclear - do you use the Phantom table (which is BAB=HD as typical Phantoms are Outsiders) or apply the normal Animal progression (BAB=3/4 HD)?
It's likely but not certain that Phantom Ally would work for multiclassing;
The shared magic item slots (like a spiritualist has with its phantom) might significantly impact the mount's survivability;
It's unclear whether or not the Ghost Rider gets the "Shared Consciousness" feature for the bonus on mind-affecting saves while the ghost mount is stored.
Welcome to hear thoughts on any of these. I think it's a fantastic archetype but there are some gaps.
Theophania realizes that the magical aura present is like a stronger version of the ever-present tinge of necromancy that suffuses Ustalav. It's similar to a haunt, and might be an effect caused by one. It is not a spell in the normal sense.
Father Grimburrow nods. "We didn't see any necromancers. Jaron here was on guard and saw a zombie rise from its grave all on its own. Must have to do with the spirits from Harrowstone."
Looking at the tracks and the grave more clearly, you see dirt around the perimeter of the grave as if something came out, and tracks leading away from the grave, then tracks coming back and descending down into the dirt.
Petros Lorrimor seems to have climbed out of his grave, lurched to his house, banged on the door, and then walked back down into the earth somehow.
"We could exhume him," remarks Father Grimburrow, "But I think that will not be necessary. I think he is back in his grave. Glad he went back down on his own without us having to hack his limbs off."
Once you are all set to back to the manor and finish resting, you may level up to 3!
Three guards approach you, looking ragged and exhausted. Their gear bears the marks of recent battle.
"Stop! We'll have no necromancers here," the lead one announces, brandishing an axe.
Father Grimburrow steps forth from behind them.
"Peace, Jaron. They are not necromancers. Follow me, outsiders."
The tracks lead back to Professor Lorriomor's grave. They seem to walk down into the earth, leaving deeper and deeper imprints until the last ones are swallowed by collapsing dirt.
"We didn't see this one rise," rasps the priest. "Three others arose throughout the night and we must have been dealing with them. It was good that you warned us to post guards. But we saw no necromancers."
Ismene is able to follow the tracks back to the Restlands. They come from and return to the cemetery. It is still night, with not even a hint of pre-dawn twilight.
There appear to be tracks leading up to the door, and then walking away from it in the direction that they came from. No creatures can be seen within the radius of the Light.
Watches set, you turn in and go to sleep.
When 1 Ismene, 2 Marill, 3 Quinn, 4 Theodore, 5 Tiff, 6 Kendra:1d6 ⇒ 4 is on watch...
Theodore:
You hear a dull, heavy, THUD on the front door, as of someone knocking with the side of a fist. And again, a second later, a louder THUD. A third time, louder still, THUD.
After a pleasant lunch, you go about your various errands.
Quinn and Marill try to ask around vaguely about strangers in town other than the party and come up empty.
Ismene and Tiff scribe spells/formulae from the Professor's spellbook.
Theodore makes his way to the Temple of Pharasma, where Vauran Grimburrow provides him with four more flasks of holy water.
"Use these well, and come back for more if you need them. I trust you have done well to put some restless spirits at peace already."
Party now has 10 flasks of Holy Water.
Kendra returns with a set of MW Thieves Tools. "Luramin Taigh has another set that he confiscated from a client who was unable to pay, so he does not need these returned. He respected my father and was willing to provide these at no charge to those who carry on my father's work. Luramin Taigh and his partner, Quess Yearburn, are among the less superstitious of the townsfolk. They have been successful as moneylenders because they have the intelligence to employ reason and consider evidence. Imagine that."
Kendra is still not entirely over the locals' disrespect of her father, and still holds the superstitious townsfolk in contempt.
"Luramin and Quess are smart enough to know that they are not experts in the occult and the arcane, and that the town was better off for having a wizard to attend to such matters."
You have a smaller supper in the evening. Then do you post watches, cast Alarm, or simply turn in to bed?
DC 10: The Whispering Way is a sinister organization of necromancers that has been active in the Inner Sea region for thousands of years.
DC 15: Agents of the Whispering Way often seek alliances with undead creatures, or are themselves undead. The Whispering Way’s most notorious member was Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, although the society itself has existed much longer than even that mighty necromancer.
DC 20: The Whispering Way itself is a series of philosophies that can only be transferred via whispers—the philosophies are never written or spoken of loudly, making the exact goals and nature of the secretive philosophy difficult for outsiders to learn much about.
DC 25: Exact details on the society are difficult to discern, but chief among the Whispering Way’s goals are discovering formulae for creating liches and engineering the release of the Whispering Tyrant. Agents often travel to remote sites or areas plagued by notorious haunts or undead menaces to perform field research or even to capture unique monsters. Their symbol is a gagged skull, and those who learn too many of the Way’s secrets are often murdered, and their mouths mutilated to prevent their bodies from divulging secrets via speak with dead.
Theodore hit a DC 25, which is pretty high. And, you've got clues both from the Professor's journal (added to Campaign Info and also here) and from your observations at Harrowstone and Vesorianna's testimony.
The Professor's Journal:
Several entries are circled in red ink. The most recent is circled 17 days ago, the day the Professor died.
17 Gozran, 4701 AR 10 years ago
The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous.
19 Kuthona, 4710 AR 2 months ago
It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be?
18 Abadus, 4711 AR 1 month ago
Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, I suppose it all makes sense—the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked up about them, I’d rather not let the others know about my curiosity—there’s plenty of folks hereabouts who already think I’m a demonologist or a witch or something. Ignorant fools.
29 Abadus, 4711 AR 20 days ago
It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something—no, strike that—someone who was held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list.
31 Abadus, 4711 AR 18 days ago
I see now just how ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find it prudent to investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the foundation—hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro. I know that the church of Pharasma used to store them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Eversleep and the Black Path. I am not certain if the current clergy even know of what their predecessors have hidden down below. If my luck holds, I should be able to slip in and out with a few borrowed items.
1 Calistril, 4711 AR 17 days ago
Tomorrow evening I return to the prison. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but if my theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don’t have time to update my will, so I’ll leave this in the chest where it’ll be sure to be found, should the worst come to pass.
Is the plan to spend a few hours asking around town this afternoon while Tiff and Ismene are scribing spells? What specifically would you ask?
Or would you rather just go back to Harrowstone in the morning?
Ismene can copy Abjuring Step, Crafter's Fortune, Comprehend Languages, Detect Undead, Identify, and True Strike. Which will consume 60 gp in Materials and take 6 hours. Take 10 on Spellcraft checks to ensure no mistakes for a total of 18.
For wizards at least, it is 1 hour to learn a spell and (spell level) in hours to scribe it. So a wizard would need 2 hours for a 1st-level spell. Is it different for alchemists?
Ismene Albus wrote:
Ismene nods, "Yes, though I can't help but wonder about the mechanics of it all. If his spirit is still trapped, how is he spelling upon the monument outside? With what blood? Person... animal? And how can one ghost murder another? Surely they cannot die twice..." Ismene shakes her head at the unfathomable predicament as she gratefully accepts a cup of tea.
"We've seen the effects of the spirits reaching out beyond the prison. Zombies in the streets. The little girls singing that disturbing song. Perhaps we will learn more."
Ismene Albus wrote:
"And what about this mysterious necromantic cabal? If the Professor observed them at the prison, is it possible other locals did as well? Did they travel from some distance and simply had their passage unremarked or are they hiding in plain sight among the populace?"
"I hadn't heard anything. It came as a surprise to me when we read Father's journal. But as you saw, he had entries referencing the Whispering Way from ten years ago. Perhaps he saw some signs of their presence that others would miss. Others might not have seen them at the prison because the locals tend to avoid that place.
I do wish Father had confided in others... Vauran Grimburrow maybe... but as he wrote, he didn't want to arouse further suspicion of himself by making his interest in the Harrowstone ruins known.
You could take some time to ask around but you would need to be very subtle in what you ask. You certainly couldn't ask openly about this cult."
Ismene Albus wrote:
"Too many questions and not enough answers. All I know for certain is we'd better load up on holy water. There seems to be no end of spectral activity."
You have 6 flasks right now.
"How much more do you need? I can try... you need powdered silver? I could have a silversmith grind down some candlesticks... Wait, you need five pounds of powdered silver for a single flask? I don't think I have that much. Perhaps Father Grimburrow will donate to this worthy cause."
Theodore is pretty certain that he could simply ask and the Church of Pharasma would provide a reasonable amount (let's say 4 flasks, with the potential for more if these are expended to some successful effect).
"Of course. As I said, you must join me for lunch."
Kendra pours Theodore another brandy.
"After that, I will go speak with Luramin Taigh about lockpicks, and Ismene and Theophania may take the time to peruse my father's spellbook."
It being a bit early for brandy by her own estimation, Kendra sips a cup of tea.
"You say the spirit of Vesorianna Hawkran is holding the spirits in check for now?" If Ismene has shared her thoughts about the 'V' on the memorial then Kendra nods to her.
"Yes. The Splatter Man is spelling out Vesorianna's name, it seems. He seeks to target her."
"I had that fear in the back of my mind. Ever since I saw that journal. The Whispering Way. So from then I had the thought that either he was killed not by some accident, but either by agents of the Whispering Way, or by the spirits of Harrowstone.
At least now I know the truth."
"Lockpicks? I happen to know that Luramin Taigh at the Silk Purse has a very good set. He is a moneylender, you see, and it happens from time to time that those who cannot pay claim that the funds are in a lockbox or safe that they 'misplaced' the key to. So he has developed the skill of opening such locks out of professional necessity.
I will handle that. Consider it part of my contribution to your investigations."
She will go out and get those after this conversation is done, so feel free to add them to your sheet.
"As well, this may be of use."
She brings out a leather-bound tome.
"My father's spellbook. It will take you time to decipher his writing, of course, but you can copy spells that may be useful. I even have some ink you can use."
His spellbook is not provided anywhere in the AP, but it should absolutely be available to the PCs. So here is what I will do.
The spellbook contains the following:
0: All Core cantrips
1: Alarm, Endure Elements, Protection from Evil, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Mage Armor, True Strike, Feather Fall, Sleep, 1d4 ⇒ 4 others (75% chance if Core, 50% chance if non-Core)
2: Arcane Lock, Book Ward, Knock, Aram Zey's Focus, See Invisibility, False Life, Darkvision, Spider Climb 1d3 ⇒ 1 others (same chances)
3: Dispel Magic, Phantom Steed, Revelation, Halt Undead, Gaseous Form, 1 other
4: Remove Curse, Detect Scrying, Resilient Sphere, 1 other
If you want to check if a spell is in there, post it and roll.
Kendra can also provide 500 GP in scribing materials at this time.
Kendra Lorrimor can certainly give you the coin for MW thieves' tools as a reward for finding out the truth about her father's death, and can point you to a vendor.
The spirit of Vesorianna Hawkran continues.
"The room south of here is the Branding Room, where new inmates were branded with irons marking them as prisoners of Harrowstone. There are restless spirits there as well that cannot rest until the last three powerful criminal spirits are destroyed."
Another haunt that you don't need to bother with at this time.
